The People’s Republic of Towner (14 – 29 January)

Eastbourne’s award-winning Towner Contemporary Art Museum is getting ready to launch its latest exhibition this weekend, The People’s Republic of Towner – a co-production between Towner and CRI Lift House, a drug treatment service concerned with the treatment and care of vulnerable adults.

The People’s Republic of Towner will open this Saturday and run until 29 January and has been developed over a number of weeks with Towner’s outreach team working closely with the staff and clients of CRI Lift House.

The project has explored how the value of accessible, secure and decent housing aids a sustainable recovery from substance and alcohol addiction. Central to the exhibition is the construction of a life size ‘dwelling’ in Towner’s industrial scale Exhibition Halls, which has been made almost entirely from recycled materials.

Visitors will be able to enter the large scale ‘dwelling’ and explore a parallel world of ultra violet squats and sofa surfing show homes, with the interior consisting of fixtures and fittings mostly recovered from skips, house refurbishments or objects donated by local businesses.

The exhibition will also feature the Black Museum, a museum designed by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service containing items recovered from house fires to highlight the importance of safe and secure housing for children.

All of the participants in The People’s Republic of Towner have at one time or another experienced housing related issues and the project has been developed in consultation with housing and advice agencies across Eastbourne. The exhibition will provide a resource area offering advice and guidance on services provided within the town as well as information on current housing policy.

For more information call Towner on 01323 434670 or visit Towner online.